


The Life and Times of Elizabeth Reid

by xXTheGameXx



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-02-06
Updated: 2012-10-24
Packaged: 2017-10-30 17:24:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/334240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXTheGameXx/pseuds/xXTheGameXx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Only one chapter) Just a short story of Reid and Prentiss' daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth gets a big dose of her parent's job and is confronted with the barrel of a gun. <br/>*There's now a second chapter fast forwarding six years later to Elizabeth's graduation and departure to college* MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 2

The Life and Times of Elizabeth Reid  
Chapter 1  
Only one word could describe the way I felt that day. That one word was misery. That bright Wednesday morning was the start of "Take Your Kid to Work Day". It was the worst day of the year. Well, other than the day that I had to visit my grandmother, Elizabeth Prentiss. I was her namesake so she would not leave me alone…EVER. She would bug me all the time about my first year in high school, grades, and boys. Well those days held equal amounts of misery.  
For "Take Your Kid to Work Day", my parents, Emily Reid, and Spencer Reid, would take me to their office building. They worked for the FBI in the BAU (The Behavioral Analysis Unit). You must be thinking, "Working in the FBI is the BEST job EVER!" Believe me, it was not. When I went, I had to sit at a desk and play games while my parents went out and beat criminal ass and kick down doors. Now that was exciting. Sitting in the office was not all that bad, being that I knew the team pretty well. They were all practically family. I was closest to Derek Morgan, who just happened to be my godfather. Uncle Derek was pretty impressive and had a lot to show off. He showed off his muscular build through muscle shirts, he was tall like my dad, but he was totally badass.  
Another unofficial member of the family was the unique Penelope Garcia. She had golden blonde hair and a sense of style that would throw you off course. She was the technology queen. When I say queen, I mean she needs her own throne room and royal court. If you gave her a name she could find just about anything on them in five seconds flat. She was just that good.  
Another member of my weird family was Jennifer Jareau, better known as J.J. In the Team, she handles the annoying press and they are equally as annoying questions. She gives them just enough information about the case to shut them up. She had straight blonde hair, which she shared with her son Henry, who was also my best friend, even though he was almost eighteen and I was fifteen. I have always had a crush on him, but I managed to hide it most of the time. His dad, Will, was just as amazing as the both of them. They were very close to my parents and me.  
Then, there was Aaron Hotchner. He was the boss man of the team. During every case he kept a solemn look on his face, but when something came up about his family or something happened to someone on the team, his eyes gave his emotions away. No facial expressions were needed. His eyes said all the words that were set on his heart. There was sympathy and care shining through his dark brown eyes. That was the only thing odd about him. But like they say, there was always one odd ball in a family.  
"Elizabeth, I need you in here!" My mother yelled from her and my dad's bedroom. I sighed and walked down the hall from my room to theirs. I opened the chestnut door to see my mom sitting at her vanity with her black hair tied back into a tight ponytail. Her face was bare and her eyes red.  
"What's up, mom?" I asked as I shrugged through the wooden door.  
"She wants to know where her make-up has gone." My dad smirked. I shot a glance at him with nervousness building in my system. I gulped as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the eyeliner and mascara and handed it to my mother.  
"This is why we lock our door." My mom said as she smiled and put some on. I looked over at my dad who was pulling one of his grandpa sweaters on.  
"Dad, you and I need to go shopping this weekend." I said pushing my black hair from my eyes. People said my hair looked exactly like my mother's. I had her eyes and hair, but the rest came from my dad.  
"What? You do not like my sweaters?" He asked.  
"Well….no." I said jokingly.  
"Well, I happen to love them." My mom finished as her and my dad's lips met.  
"Ugg…" I sighed "At least let me leave the room, first…and I will start the coffee." My parents smiled at me as I left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen.  
I walked into the golden yellow kitchen and reached for the coffee maker on the speckled black tile. I set the coffee beans up and pressed start and the coffee began to brew. Five minutes flew by and my parents began to file down the stairs. I handed them their travel cups filled to the brim with coffee and we shifted out the front door.  
"Hey, baby girl!" Uncle Derek exclaimed as covered me one of his notorious bear hugs. I squeezed back as hard as I could, but I was no match for his bulging muscles.  
"Hey, I want to hug mini Spemily!" Garcia chimed as she bumped Uncle Derek aside and hugged me even tighter. She called me Spemily because apparently I looked like a mix of both my parents, but I could not see it.  
"Don't squeeze her too tightly; I would love to have my daughter for the rest of my life, even though the life span of parents is exceptionally lower than those without children…." I tuned out my dad's rambling, being that he did this more than 90 percent of the time. He was a never ending book of facts and statistics.  
As he finished his rambling, J.J walked in through the main entrance, while Henry, her son, stalked in behind her. I fluffed my hair as Henry closed the distance between us. I never said I still didn't like him. Uncle Derek looked at me, then back at Henry and back at me. I stared at him, giving him a look telling him not to do anything. I was good at hiding my emotions with most things, but crushes…I didn't hide so well. I walked to Henry, who had a smile on his face from spotting me. He grasped my arm and pulled me into a small hug. I felt Uncle Derek's eyes dig into my back.  
"Hello, Henry." Uncle Derek greeted.  
"Hey, Agent Morgan." Henry smiled. I glared at Derek as he interrogated Henry about school and his grades. I hoped my eyes were stabbing him a million times a minute. Henry didn't seem fazed by the questions being thrown at him. I sighed loudly enough to stop the numerous questions, just as J.J called the team into the debriefing room. Then it was just me and Henry.  
"I guess we're both meant to suffer today, huh?" Henry mused. I smiled and nodded in agreement.  
"Every year I come here and sometimes in between, but nothing exciting ever happens." I groaned. My mom and dad ran out of the debriefing room in such a hurry that I hardly had time to blink.  
"Go into Garcia's office." My mom demanded in a solemn tone that almost scared me. I glanced at Henry who was also shocked at the surprising turn of events.  
"What's going on-?" I was cut off by my mom pushing Henry and I into Garcia's office.  
She quickly kissed my forehead and rushed outside grabbing her pistol out of her holster. I sat down on the carpeted floor in disbelief. Someone must have been outside or inside the building. I looked at Henry who was just as curious as I was. I reached towards the door knob, just as he pulled it back. He shook his head and said that I should stay put. There were no windows in the office so we had no way of seeing or knowing what was going on. Henry and I both jumped when a gun went off. Several more shots followed and soon there was silence. I moved to Henry's side and he enclosed me in a protective embrace. We heard glass shatter as a bullet went through it. I tightened my grip on Henry's arm and he pulled me closer. Garcia's office door swung open and hit the back wall with a shocking slam. An unknown man was staring at Henry and me on the floor. The black object in his hand pointed at us. I got up slowly putting my hands out in front of me.  
"Put it down….please..." My voice was breaking, you could hardly hear me.  
"You people took everything from me. You deserve nothing." The man said as he stepped closer. Henry stepped in front of me. The man shoved him hard and Henry's head made an unusual thud against the wall. I ran over to him and the man yanked my arm back extremely hard. I was hyperventilating so hard, hoping this wouldn't be the last day of my life.  
Gun behind my head, he led me out of the room. Everyone was rushing towards the office. I saw my parents staring with tears in their eyes with their guns pointed. I knew they were trying to keep a brave face for me, but I could see right through them.  
"Let the girl go!" Hotch shouted at the man.  
"I'll take her like you took my family."  
"Your son was a vigilante. He was on the run. This girl is innocent. Let her go." My dad argued.  
"Go get Henry." I said looking at JJ. My eyes were filling with tears as i looked around all the guns pointed in my direction. I worried for Henry, who was out cold in Garcia's office. I looked towards the office, giving them his location. The man let go of my arm, but only to grip my neck with his gun still at my head. Morgan itched forward, but my mom held him back. I swore I saw her blink back tears.  
"Is this your little girl?" The man asked shifting his glance towards my dad.  
"Yes, sir." He answered gulping.  
"Then say good-bye. Say your last sentence to your little girl. You'll watch your child die, like I did mine…when you shot him." He squeezed my neck and I gasped. This time it was Morgan who held back my mom.  
"Go get Henry." I coughed out between short breathes. Two officers moved stealthily towards Garcia's office and went in. They called out that he was unconscious, but breathing. I heave a sigh of relief. The man gripped my neck tighter. My lungs were beginning to tighten.  
"Tell her!" the man shouted.  
My vision began to blur, as my air supply decreased in a matter of seconds. My knees began to give out. The man placed his bullet and placed the gun next to my temple, so everyone could see. My eyes closed as my lungs reached their breaking point and a shot went off and I fell to the ground.  
I woke up, for a minute, to the sound of my dad shouting to be with me. He was pacing outside of the door with my mom who was trying to calm him down. The doctor eventually came in and saw that I was awake and moved the oxygen mask back to my face. He then went outside to get my parents who quickly went past him and to my bedside. Right behind them was the rest of the team.  
"Where's Henry?" I asked moving the oxygen mask.  
"He's fine, baby girl." Uncle Derek said pushing my oxygen mask back to my face.  
"Is he awake?" I asked removing it again.  
"Not yet." My mom said pushing the mask back and giving me a look to keep the mask on.  
I looked at my dad, who hadn't said a word. He was just simply combing through my thick hair with his hand. I looked around the room. Hotch, Garcia, and JJ weren't in the room. I figured they were with Henry. My thoughts drifted as my lungs began to close up again and I got dizzy.  
"Daddy…" I whispered looking up at him. He looked admiringly at me.  
"Yes?" He answered with his voice breaking.  
"It's ok." My said brushing his face gently, as my eyes closed and I blacked out.  
-One Hour Later-  
I woke up to the room almost empty, everyone but my mom was gone. She was asleep in the chair next to the bed with her hand on mine. I shifted and she immediately woke up.  
"Hey…"She greeted quietly pushing my hair back.  
"Where's dad?"  
"He had to go back to work. A new case came in." She cleared her throat.  
"Why didn't he say anything earlier?"  
My mom removed her hand and placed it on mine and cleared her throat. She stayed quiet for a few moments and said something.  
"You know how your father is…" She answered simply as if that were to answer all my questions.  
The doctor walked in and said I could leave tomorrow morning after a full night with oxygen. They wanted to make sure my lungs were ok. I asked if I could see Henry and they said they would prefer that I not, but only if I took my oxygen with me. I looked at my mom and she nodded. The doctor helped me out of bed and hooked me to an oxygen tank. I walked out of the door and into a freezing cold hallway. I took my time, quickly running out of breath every few steps.  
I finally reached Henry's room, which was strategically placed at the end of the hallway. I opened the door slowly with my mom following behind me. I rushed forward, losing my breath, so my mom helped me towards a chair. I saw down next to a very still slow breathing Henry. I stared at him. There was a small bruise on the side of his head. He hit it really hard against the wall. I touched his hand gently and I felt him move a little. I intertwined my fingers with his and squeezed his hand. I felt bad, being that it was my fault he was in this situation. He was protecting me. If this got worse, I would never forgive myself.  
"You need rest now." My mom whispered. "Let's go back to the room."  
"Ok…" I agreed, not having any choice but to leave.  
We struggled back to my room. I got into bed, head full of thoughts. Then the unknown man crept back into my mind.  
"Mom, what happened to the man?" I asked turning my eyes to her direction.  
"It doesn't matter. Sleep now, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She said kissing my forehead and leaving me with my thoughts.  
I woke up with the sound of my Dad hustling into the hospital room with a change of clothes for me. I smiled weakly and he gave me a small smile back. The doctor came in and helped me untangle my mess of tubes from the oxygen mask. I got up slowly with the help of the doctor and my dad and went to change my clothes. I heard them talk and someone mentioned taking it easy and resting and they shook hands as I pulled on my shoes. I walked out of the bathroom to find my dad standing tall pushing his hair back. I gave him my best smile and we walked out of the room to check out.  
"Finally, my little genius is free!" Garcia exclaimed pulling me into her notorious hugs. I managed to get out an "I missed you too" between gasps for air.  
We got into the black truck the BAU used for cases. I sat in the back while Garcia and my dad sat in front. He still hadn't said one word to me since yesterday morning.  
"Did you see Henry?" I asked Garcia.  
"He woke up really early this morning. He'll be home tonight." She answered. I smiled to myself. I was insanely happy he was going to be ok.  
We arrived back at the BAU office and walked into the main area. I was greeted by an army of "glad you're Okays" and "welcome backs". As we walked in, I noticed yellow tape stretched around the area where I blacked out. I took in a quick breath and stopped in mid stride. Both Garcia and my dad looked worried, but said nothing. I began to walk over, but my dad stepped in my way and gestured towards the briefing room.  
"Tell me what happened." I pleaded giving him my best puppy dog face. He couldn't resist the face…usually.  
"Not this time, babe." Garcia interrupted, knowing my dad's weakness.  
She set me down with a laptop at my dad's desk while they headed to the briefing room. When I was sure they weren't watching I slowly got out of my chair and turned to bump right into my Uncle Derek.  
"Nice try, kid. Sit your little butt back down." He laughed. I sat back down and fiddled around on the computer.  
-Twenty Minutes Later-  
Tired of playing solitaire, the lonely person's game, I got up to wander around. I wandered around chatting with a few agents and I caught a glimpse of the yellow tape and broken glass on the ground. I shot a quick look at the briefing room. The blinds were down and the door was closed. There was no Uncle Derek in sight. It was time to pounce. I stalked over to the yellow tape and froze where I was. My eyes went straight towards the dry dark red blotch on the gray carpeting. I just stood there looking at the crime scene. He died. The unknown man died. At least this scene made it look like he died. I was brought back to life when I heard my name being called and my arm being pulled.  
"I thought I told you, you couldn't come over here." My dad said sternly. I'd never heard him speak this way.  
"I wasn't thinking..." I began, but he stopped me.  
"You can't just walk around. You did that and you almost got killed. I would've had to watch you die. You can't just….not think about stuff." He huffed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away.  
My mouth hung open and I stood there blinking in disbelief. I watched him pace and walk into Garcia's office. I hesitated to follow him, but something held me back. I remembered back to the man when he held the gun to my head. I flashed back to my position that morning. My dad had the most worried look on his face. When the man asked him to say goodbye to me, he completely broke, then that's when I blacked out. I racked my brain to see who shot their gun. When the man set his bullet is when I fell. My eyes were still open though. I stared straight in front of me to see my dad pull his trigger.  
I backed myself into a wall. I was cornered by the thought that my dad had killed the man…or so I thought. I didn't know if he was in a hospital somewhere under heavy guard or if his family is looking for a burial ground. I hoped to whoever was in higher power that my dad hadn't killed anyone. Every son or daughter of a cop or agent hopes every day that their parents don't kill anyone. They have this angelic view of their parents. They believe they can do no wrong or hurt an innocent soul…even though that man was not so innocent. I refused to believe that a man like my father was capable of such a cruel deed as taking someone's life.  
I brought myself back with a few deep breathes and tumbled down to the ground. The team filed out of the briefing room grief on their faces. They all looked especially disgusted. This case must've been really bad for them to make those faces. As they went about getting their things for the case, JJ's eyes landed on me across the room. She sighed and walked over and sat down next to me.  
"Are you alright?" She asked gently.  
"Is he dead?" I asked looking back over to the red blotch. JJ moved and stationed herself in front of me, blocking the blotch from my view. She didn't say anything.  
"We were all in a position, where either you died or the man did. Another choice would be either let you die or the man live on in jail. We did what we thought was best." She said.  
"Who killed him?" I asked staring blankly at her. She didn't say if he actually died.  
"It's not important. I need to go back to the team. Henry will be back in about an hour and a half. Call me when he gets back." JJ huffed as she left quickly to catch up with the team. Why couldn't people just give me a straight answer? I got an idea of how to get my answers.  
I casually walked over to the security office. I said hello to Ernie, the day watchman, who was watching the monitors. This was the source of all video footage of the building. I was pretty sure I would be able to see who shot him and to see if he actually died.  
"Hey, Ernie, you wouldn't happen to have footage of the man who came here with a gun would you?" I asked sweetly.  
"You have been forbidden to see it, missy." He said giving me a smirk.  
"By who?" I questioned.  
"You have been forbidden by your parents." He explained, keeping that smirk bright on his face.  
I cursed under my breath and stalked out of the office. I made my way back to the office and with a huff sat down at my mom's desk and played boring games on her computer.  
-One Hour and Thirty Minutes Later-  
On my last wits at a game I was actually trying at, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Henry smiling down at me. I jumped up and hugged him as tight as I could. He squeezed me back and gasped that he missed me too. I called JJ on my cell for him and they talked quickly. She just wanted to make sure there was no real damage. They said hello and goodbye and I soon had Henry all to myself.  
We took turns playing games on the computer and had occasional conversations about random things that were not all that serious. After a series of laughter, he became quiet. The silence became awkward and I asked him what was wrong. He was silent for what seemed like forever and eventually answered me with the saddest look a friend could have on their face.  
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." He finally said. I tried to hide the shock, he looked so sorry, but he wasn't done. "I should've done more. I could have at least thrown a punch, but instead I let him throw me around. I play football for god sakes." He heaved a breath and looked at me to say something, but I was utterly speechless.  
"You were shoved head first into a wall. You couldn't have done anything." I said touching his arm gently.  
"I heard what happened. I could have done everything to avoid that." He said turning away from me. I took his face in my hands and gave him a serious glare.  
"Listen to me. You could not have done anything. Do not argue with me unless you want to get hurt." I whispered seriously. He gave me a smile and clamped his hands on mine and we hugged. We heard a grunt and untangled our arms to find Garcia with her arms crossed a smirk on her face. I quickly turned red and turned to the computer and Henry did the same.  
"I just wanted a hug little Henry, but I see you have got enough company." Garcia smiled. I could feel her smirk sinking into my back which only made my cheeks burn more. I looked over at Henry who gave me an adorable embarrassed smile and we returned to the simplicity of the online games.  
-Thirty Minutes Later-  
The team arrived back from another meeting in the briefing. A serial killer was terrorizing single mothers in Las Vegas. I quickly went to talk to my father, not about the case, but to ask about my grandmother. My dad's mom, Diana Reid, lived in Vegas. She lived in a psychiatric hospital called Bennington Sanitarium. She was a schizophrenic. I've never met my grandmother, but she does know I exist. I send her letters along with my dad once in a while, but he writes her one every single day about the cases he solves and about me and my mom. We send her pictures now and an again. We send her loads from the holidays. Seeing her through pictures isn't the same as actually getting to see her.  
I hugged both my dad and my mom as they reached the desk where Henry and I were sitting. They of course hugged Henry, telling him they were glad he was ok. I looked my parents up and down and my eyes landed on my dad's holster holding his gun. I got up from my chair and walked over to Uncle Derek who was setting up paper work. I knew he was he only person here who treated me like an adult. He separated his eyes from his paper work and patted my shoulder giving me a greeting grin. I slid a chair to the side of his desk and crossed my legs across the knee. He seemed to understand that I wanted to talk serious and stopped what he was doing. He turned his char towards me and faced me head on.  
"What's wrong baby girl?" He asked clamping my hands between his warm ones.  
"About yesterday…my dad…his gun…" I could barely get the question.  
"He did what anyone one of us would have done. Anyone here that knows how great you are would have done the same thing. He just happened to do it first. You're his baby." He put it quite simply. I noticed he was choosing his words carefully. He didn't say killed or shot.  
"So he's dead…the man. The man is dead." I said to myself.  
"Yea baby girl, he's gone." He answered squeezing my hands with care.  
"Thanks for telling me the truth." I said keeping my distance from Uncle Derek's oncoming hug. I kept my face solemn and walked past Henry and past the office doors. My mom stared after me, with that "what's wrong, honey" expression on her face. I ignored her and joined a group of people going down on the elevator to the lobby of the FBI building. I just needed air and this office was suffocating me.  
I sat on a bench outside the building, watching different agents fly outside and inside of the building. They're all in their late twenties to late thirties. I wondered if any of them had lives outside of this job. I wondered if they had families back home…if any of them had children. Most of all, I wondered if each of them had shot anyone. I knew I wouldn't get used to the idea of my dad killing a man, even if it was for my protection. That fact just made me feel guilty as hell. I tried hard to convince myself that he brought his death upon himself. He's the one that held the gun. He chose to point it at an innocent person. Most importantly at an agent's daughter.  
I dropped head down into my hands and heaved. I came out for fresh air. It was all that I needed. I didn't want to think about it, so again, I tried to force it out of my head. I felt a wave of heat in the middle of November, which was odd. I looked behind me and there stood my dad. He stood tall and lean against the bench with his hands in his pockets. He did that in awkward situations. It was usually when he was with the team or he and I were about to have a one on one chat.  
"Hello there, Lizzie." He greeted.  
"Hey, Dad." I greeted simply. He moved and sat down next to me. He sat there and didn't say a word for a few moments.  
"You're not afraid of me are you?" He asked. I turned to him and smiled.  
"Of course I'm not afraid of you, dad. It's just your taste in sweaters is horrifying." I answered. He laughed and kissed my forehead.  
"Alright, Lizzie. We'll go shopping one day…but don't count on me being happy about it." Reid answered as he and his daughter walked up the stairs and back to the offices.


	2. Chapter 2

The Life and Times of Elizabeth Reid Part II  
-Six Years Later-  
“Dad, you are so not allowed to cry.” I said to him as my mom zipped up my gown.   
“I’m not going to cry, it’s just weird.” He replied from outside the bathroom door. He was lying. I could tell from his voice that he was on the verge of tears. My mom propped open the door to let some light shine in.  
“Your father and I are just so proud of you…” She said hugging him. “Our little girl is graduating…”  
“It’s just high school.” I sighed. I turned around and stared at myself in school bathroom the mirror. My long black hair shimmered against the golden yellow and purple gown, my class colors. This was it. It was the beginning of the rest of my life, as the saying goes. To think, just six years ago, I almost died, but here I was getting ready to finally finish high school. My parents were here, the rest of my family.  
“My Spemily!” A familiar voice chimed from the doorway. Before I could reply with a hello my entire body was engulfed in a warm embrace. The rest of the BAU team wasn’t far behind her.   
“Hey, Garcia.” I whispered as my lungs begged for air. She let go and smiled at me. She snapped a quick picture and stood back.   
“I just wanted to get my love in before everyone beat me to it.” She admitted. My parents and I laughed. She brushed my hair behind my ears as her prolonged tears welled in her eyes. “To think it was just a measly eighteen years ago I held your little tiny premature body in my arms.  
“Aunt Garcia…can we not go down this road now? You’re going to smear your makeup.” I replied cupping her somewhat damp cheek.  
“It’s too late, buttercup. I can’t control my waterworks, so here they come.” She announced. She whipped out a tissue from her purse and lightly dabbed at her eyes.   
“You look great.” A voice behind my family chimed. I turned around to see a bright and familiar face. Before I could give him a greeting, Henry was holding me close to his chest. I heard a chorus of awes and my dad sigh and mumble a few choice words. I felt soft fingertips brush my now blushing cheeks.   
“I didn’t think you’d be able to make it.” I whispered into his blue dress shirt. It smelled like his apartment in Boston. I’d gone to visit him in college over the summer.   
“I wouldn’t dare miss my girlfriend’s graduation.” He replied softly.  
“Yea, I’m pretty sure she would be kind of pissed if you did.” I joked with a smile. Henry laughed and lifted my lips to his. It was soft but forceful enough to make my dad tap his shoulder. I heard my mother and Garcia share snickers behind me. Henry grinned down at me and kissed my forehead. He let me go as the head of my school called for everyone to take their seats. I kissed my parents and waved good bye to everyone as I went to join my class in the front. 

-Three Hours Later-  
“How do you feel, sweetie?” My mother asked me as she stood next to me to take a picture.   
“I feel like I’m going to puke.” I joked. My mom squeezed my shoulders and kissed my cheek.  
“I’ve never been more proud of you, Lizzie.” My dad said wrapping his arm around my shoulders.   
“Thanks, dad.” I said. The feeling of a new beginning was just beginning to settle in. I wiped the stray tears away from my eyes and flashed a smile for another picture.  
“Congratulations, Lizzie!” JJ greeted me. Her hug was almost as tight as Garcia’s. She let me breathe and looked me over. She grinned at my cap and gown. “Are you ready for New York yet?” She said squeezing my shoulder.   
“I’m trying very hard not to think about it, though I have to leave in a couple weeks…” I trailed off. Before New York University seemed so far away, and I was fine with that, but now that I had actually graduated, I could barely breathe.   
“Well get ready, my dear, two months will pass by before you know it.” Rossi added, giving me a reassuring squeeze. I sighed as my friends ran over to us with their caps and diplomas in their hands. They broke through my family with squeals and hugged me tightly. They dragged me away from them to take more pictures and we went through our high school hallway one last time.  
“I can’t believe it. We’re starting the next chapter of our lives. We’re gonna be boss bitches soon.” Taylor yelled grabbing mine and Rachel’s shoulders.   
“I’d prefer to just be a boss. I’ll only be a bitch if necessary.” Rachel added. We laughed and traveled down to our old lockers. We ran our fingers along the locks and smiled, thinking back to all the gossip and boys we talked about by them. They were the best memories.  
“So are you excited to spend the summer with Henry? Taylor asked slowly. I nodded without a word. I felt my friends exchange glances.  
“He’s twenty one…you’re sort of legal now. You know…” Rachel trailed off. I stopped mid stride and turned around to face them.   
“You two think Henry and I are going to have sex?” I asked them in sincere shock. The two of them nodded in unison. I huffed and walked ahead. Henry and I had never talked about it. We’d been together for two years, but sex had never been the topic of conversation with us. We kissed and cuddled, but we’d never done anything in the realm of sex.   
“A guy his age has needs, Lizzie. You should get on that.” Taylor said grabbing my shoulder. I shook my head.  
“I wouldn’t even know where to start with that. He’s never even brought it up.” I replied lightly. I was getting a bit dizzy.   
“Well you’re staying with him this summer, so maybe something will happen in the heat of the moment.” Rachel added with a smile. I shook their hands off my shoulders and belted out an awkward laugh.  
“Would you two stop deciding my life? My parents did enough of that over the last two years.” I yelled. They sighed and left me alone as we continued down the hallway and back outside. 

-That Night-  
“Hotch!” I exclaimed softly. A small smile crossed his face as he hugged me.   
“I apologize for being late to the party…and for not making the graduation…” He began, but I waved it off.  
“It doesn’t matter. You saved yourself three hours of your life anyway. Where’s Jack?” I asked, leading him to the living room.   
“He’ll be here in the next thirty minutes. He says the traffic from Maryland to here is a little hectic.” Hotch answered.  
“As long as he gets here, I’ll be just fine.” I joked. He smiled again and took a small book out of his jacket pocket.  
“Congratulations, Lizzie.” He said pressing it into my hands. I began to open it, but he clamped my hands shut. “Open it later. Just continue to enjoy your party.” He smiled and hugged me. He walked away to my parents and left me alone with my little book. I looked down at it. It was a small little black book with my full name inscribed on the side binding. I looked around and raced up to my bedroom. I slid the door shut and sat down on top of my bed sheets. I opened the soft satin cover and gazed onto the first page. My eyes blurred as I read the words scrawled across the page. The tear stains smudged the writing a little but not to the point where I couldn’t read them.   
Baby Girl,  
I hope Hotch remembered to give this to you when you graduated. I knew you could do it, or at least you better have. Knowing your dad you’ll be heading off to an Ivy League school, but knowing you, you just want to be as far away from him and your mom as possible. Just know I’m proud of you, kid. You’ll be great when you go out into the world. I just hope they’re ready for you.  
~Uncle Derek

I couldn’t hold in the tears or the gross sobs that escaped from my gut. It couldn’t have been that long ago that he wrote that message. It couldn’t have been that long ago that that bastard of a serial murder killed my godfather. It couldn’t have been that long ago that he was in a coma. It wasn’t that long ago that I heard the ventilator be turned off. I turned the page and glued to the paper were pictures of me and my Uncle Derek. Pictures from when I was a baby up until days before he was wounded. I set the closed the book and set it down on my nightstand. I just stared at it, not sure what else I could do. My makeup was messed up. My black mascara and eyeliner made streaks down my cheeks. I slumped over onto my bed and curled into a ball. My stomach churned. I pulled my throw pillow to my chest and hugged it close. I let the tears stain the cloth as they slid down my chin. I suddenly felt a presence behind me. I quickly wiped my eyes of the black rivers and sat upright.   
“You okay, Lizzie?” Jack asked me from my doorway. I nodded sniffling and wiping stray mascara streaks. He sat down next to me on the bed and held me. “My dad told you not to read it now.” I managed a smile.   
“I miss him. He should be here.” I whispered between more sniffles.  
“I know. I do too.” 

-After the Party-  
“Thanks so much for coming!” I heard my mom call from the door after the last guest left. She heaved a sigh and walked back to the rest of the family in the living room. She sat next to my father and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. My heart lifted seeing them happy. I squeezed Henry’s hand beside me and hoped the two of us would be in their same position one day. Just watching our kid grow up and get ready to go off to college, believing for once in our lives we did something right for a change.   
“You look exhausted, honey.” My mom said to me. I nodded slowly as I slouched back into the crook of Henry’s shoulder. My dad shifted his weight and I couldn’t help but laugh. JJ and Garcia looked at me and then back at my dad. His face had gone pale and his cheeks were flush.   
“Spence, you okay over there?” JJ asked hiding a laugh behind her hand. My dad nodded without a word. My mom shifted and looked at my dad for herself and grinned.   
“Spencer…it’s been two years.” I heard her whisper to him. Uncle Dave and Hotch laughed  
“It still doesn’t make me feel better.” He whispered back. We all laughed loudly together, but it soon faded to a soft silence.   
“This is nice. We’re all together for the last time before the three of you head off back to school.” Uncle Dave announced. The adults smiled at Henry, Jack and me. I closed my eyes as the tears began to form again.   
“We’re not all here…” I said. Everyone’s heads dropped. I couldn’t hold it anymore. I quickly got up from the couch and hustled to the kitchen. I dropped into the wooden chair and buried my face in my arms. In just a few moments I felt my mom’s hands on my shoulders.   
“It’ll get better soon, honey.” She whispered as she kissed the top of my head. I shook my head.  
“All of you act like everything is just peachy, and it’s not!” I sobbed. She sighed and brushed my hair behind my ears.   
“We all have different ways of dealing with it, sweetie. How do you think your father feels, or your aunt Penelope? They were the closest people to him.” She whispered through my hair. I looked up at her, tears blurring my vision.   
“Then how are they still functioning? How can they be so collected? It’s only been a month!” I yelled. I sprang up from my chair and folded my arms across my chest. My mom collected herself and prepared an answer in her head.   
“Because he wouldn’t want them to stray from the rest of their lives. You know just as well as I do that your uncle wouldn’t want any of us being stuck on his death.”  
“It’s just weird being without him, mom.  
“I know…” She replied simply. She got up from her chair and squeezed me to her chest. I rested my head on her shoulder and hugged her back. She let me go and cupped my face in her hands. “You’ll feel better soon, Lizzie, I promise.” She kissed my forehead again and walked back into the living room. 

-Two Weeks Later-  
“Dad, come on! I have to leave now if I’m gonna get to my dorm and check in on time!” I yelled up the stairs. I shook my head as a smile graced my lips. This wasn’t out of the usual for him and he hadn’t had his coffee yet, so he wasn’t at his best yet. After a few more minutes he finally came down the stairs.   
“I’ve got the camera, so go stand next to your mom.” He said fixing the camera strap over his wrist. My mom and I hugged each other and smiled. The flash went off and my dad switched places with her. The flash went off and bags were being picked up and the three of us were piling them in my car.   
“Remember to blast the music if you feel yourself getting tired.” My mom warned. I sighed as her eyes began to water.   
“If you leave in the next two and a half minutes you can make it to New York in just five hours and sixteen minutes. It’ll only take you about seventeen minutes to reach the highway and….” My dad started by I interrupted him with a hug.   
“I love you too, daddy.” I whispered into his hair. He smiled and hugged me close.   
“I just can’t believe my Lizzie is growing up so fast.” He whispered into my hair. His long pale fingers winded through my dark hair as tears gathered in his eyes.   
“I know, I can’t either, but here I go.” I replied letting him go. I threw my purse in the passenger seat and sat down in the driver’s. I looked at my parents through the windshield as I backed out of the driveway. I watched them wave goodbye to me as I pulled out onto the street and drive off to the city.


End file.
